Shahid Abbasi elected Prime Minister of Pakistan

Islamabad: Former petroleum minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has been appointed the interim Prime Minister of Pakistan by Pakistan’s National Assembly after Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court over corruption allegations.

Abbasi got elected after getting 221 votes in the House of 342. Naveed Qamar of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) got 47 votes; Sheikh Rashid Ahmed of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf got 33 while Jamaat-e-Islami’s Sahibzada Tariqullah managed just four votes.

Abassi’s tenure is expected to be short as Nawaz Sharif has chosen his brother Shahbaz Sharif as the successor once he becomes eligible.

The Supreme Court on Friday disqualified 67-year-old Prime Minister Sharif for dishonesty and ruled that corruption cases be filed against him and his children over the Panama Papers scandal, forcing him to resign.